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Cybermobs Multiply Online Threats and Their Danger

Ari Ezra Waldman, an associate professor and the director of the Innovation Center for Law and Technology at New York Law School, is the founder and director of the Tyler Clementi Institute for CyberSafety. He is on Twitter (@ariezrawaldman).

Updated August 3, 2016, 10:06 PM

Online harassment is particularly pernicious because it is cheap, fast and permanent. It costs virtually nothing to post threatening comments and gather a posse to join in on the abuse. One threat can unleash a cascade of torment from often anonymous or pseudonymous armies that, due to the nature of internet search, can permanently attach to a victims’ online footprint.

It costs virtually nothing to post threatening comments and gather a posse to join in on the abuse.

Often cyberharassment mobs begin as loose communities connecting over a shared idea or topic like online gaming. Some members find a grievance — perhaps they oppose women making inroads into their world. They then organize around a hashtag or on a sub-Reddit and, with the help of professional trolls like Milo Yiannopoulos, their anger metastasizes as it feeds on itself in an intensifying loop. The group takes action and lashes out at its perceived enemies, most of whom tend to be members of traditionally marginalized groups, from the L.G.B.T.Q. community to women and racial and ethnic minorities.

Attackers feel comfortable making hateful comments because cloaks of anonymity protect them and erode the social norms that normally stop us from saying horrible things to each others faces. An anonymous digital world also dehumanizes victims: Screen names make it easy to forget or willfully deny that there are real people on the other end.

In short, the internet itself is partly to blame. Much of what makes it great — its speed, low cost, scope, size and pseudonymity — also facilitates avalanches of hate.

Prevention starts with children: Parents and schools must have conversations with young people about online interaction.

Web platforms must also fulfill their commitments to create safe online environments. Yahoo has an effective A.I. that spots hate and harassment; a combination of human safety engineers and algorithms would probably do an even better job. Rich profiles that include pictures and social cues can help replace some of the social norms lost online.

And laws must not only make it easier for victims of cyberharassment to obtain justice, they must also reflect the seriousness of the problem. Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s Intimate Privacy Protection Act, which would make nonconsensual pornography a federal crime, is a great first step. But victims need stronger civil remedies, as well. Platforms that promote or solicit cyberharassment, or continue to let it happen even after notification, must be held accountable for their role in making the problem worse. Law enforcement must be trained to recognize online harassment when desperate victims come to them for help. And school districts need bullying policies that integrate antiharassment education into curricula and improve school climate for all. Only this kind of comprehensive approach could begin to contain this devastating epidemic.